Visit from Sofia University

EQI was delighted to host a delegation of Principals and Inspectors from Sofia, Bulgaria as part of the Polycentric Inspection of Networks of Schools projects. Led by Prof. Dr. Rossitsa Simeonova and Prof. Dr. Yonka Parvanova of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Faculty of Education the delegation spent a number of days in Dublin and Belfast meeting with colleagues involved in teaching, school management and Inspection.

The initial part of their visit saw the group co- hosted by the School of Policy and Practice, DCU Institute of Education at the DCU St. Patrick’s Campus. The visitors had a number of meetings with key stakeholders from the Irish education system and had the opportunity to engage in a fruitful discussion relating the the challenges and opportunities afforded by the innovations taking place in both Irish and European education. In particular they had a series presentations from individuals inolved the fields of inspection and staff support and training. Among those who attended the meetings were:

Ms Emer Egan, Deputy Chief Inspector

Dr. Gerard McHugh, Director Dublin West Teachers Centre

Ms. Rachel Farrrell, PDST

Mr Sean Gallagher, PDST

In addition to meetings on the DCU St. Patrick’s Campus the visiting delegation also had the opportunity to visit St. Aidan’s School, Whitehall where they were warmly welcomed by the school community and given an opportunity to see how an Irish secondary school worked.

On the second day of their visit the Bulgarian colleagues visited Belfast where they were welcomed by a range of community and education groups. Their first meeting of the morning was held at the West Belfast Partnership Board where EQI Senior Research Fellow Dr. Patrick Shevlin along with Ms. Angela Mervyn from the WBPB discussed issues relating to community involvement in network evaluation. The delegation then had the opportunity to visit a number of schools in the West Belfast and to discuss issues of school management and leadership with a range of stakeholders.

The visit concluded with a visit to the Education Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont. At this meeting the Chair of the Committee  Mr. Barry McElduff MLA welcomed the delegation to Northern Ireland and led a lively discussion on the role of education, quality assurance and inspection in the development of the local education system.